According to the federal department of transportation, there are about 5,800 car versus train accidents each year nationwide. The majority of these crashes — 75 percent — occur during daylight hours. And about 50 percent of accidents at night involve an automobile running into a train. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a motorist is 20 times more likely to die in a crash involving a train than in a collision involving another motor vehicle.

These are sobering statistics and facts.

Let’s face it. No 3,000- to 4,000-pound vehicle is a match for a train weighing hundreds of tons. A train can take a mile to get stopped, so the chances that it will halt in time for a motorist are slim to none.

We urge motorists to be safe and arrive alive. Sure, it sometimes seems to take forever for a long coal train to pass through a crossing. But isn’t it much better to arrive at your destination 10 or 15 minutes late than to not arrive at all?